


We all sing different songs

by KusakabeNAyako



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Hiding in Plain Sight, Senator Anakin Skywalker, Sith Anakin Skywalker, Sith Shenanigans (Star Wars), Suitless Darth Vader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:48:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24089152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KusakabeNAyako/pseuds/KusakabeNAyako
Summary: "I, personally, never found the General an interesting character. He all but stumbles through the story, pushed around by both sides till he entangles into the strings and falls.""Really? I find him quite intriguing. Someone who just wishes to do good, but ultimately cannot escape the fate the universe set out for him.""For a hero figure, he is good enough. For a character, he lacks a key trait.""And what would that be?""Agency."Anakin Skywalker is the Senator of Tatooine, friend to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala.Darth Vader is the Apprentice of Darth Plaguis, enemy to Darh Sidious. Vader wears the mask of Anakin to conquer without too much brute force, Anakin wears the mask of Vader to ruthlessly play the game of politics.All the while the Jedi, his Family, his Friends and his Enemy must not know that he is trained in the arts of Dark and Light.All the while the Clone Wars tear the Galaxy apart.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 19
Kudos: 101





	We all sing different songs

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I've never written politics before, but I'd like to try it out. XD A really slow pacing story, no idea how long it will last and how it will end. I have no endgame in sight, just four characters with agency, playing off on each other.  
> Anakin/Vader wants to gain power, get rid of Sidious and make a family (preferably in that order.)  
> Sidious wants Vader as his apprentice and rule the galaxy.  
> Obi-Wan wants to end the war on the field of battle and help his friend.  
> Padmé wants to end the war on the field of politics and make a family with Anakin.
> 
> I'll leave them in the sandbox to figure things out.  
> Also, I have no beta, all mistakes are mine. The Dark Side might be a parth to many unnatural abilities, but English remains my second language.

Anakin waited three hours for his master to show up, all the while having an unfamiliar feeling coiling around in his gut. It was strange, as if he couldn’t breathe properly. He tried to tug at the bond with his Master, but only echo was the answer. As the hours passed, he became more and more agitated. Such delay should’ve been enough to settle all of his business and arrive to train him. But he didn’t come. So Anakin stopped exercising, took a shower, changed back into his Senatorial robes and went to find him. His first trip led to the Grand Opera house his Master enjoyed to spend time in. To speak with his allies and discuss his less shady businesses.

But no one has seen his Master there the whole day. So he went to the library. Maybe he just got lost in his ideas. It was an unfortunate trait of his. Sometimes he just got hit by a hypothesis, stopped everything he was doing and went to prove it. He liked to think that in this case, he was more effective than his Master was, since multitasking is a long cultivated special talent of his.

But his Master wasn’t in the library either. The bad feeling in his chest expanded every time he looked behind a bookshelf and found anyone but his Master.

The last place he looked was the Laboratory. He despised this place, but knew his way around it very well. “ _You will learn everything I know and more.”_ His Master often said, while he was lecturing him about things that Anakin couldn’t care less of, or were disgusted by. _“You have a mighty destiny to fulfill.”_ A mighty destiny. Anakin frowned as he looked upon the lines of tanks, all of them holding a different creature, a different _person._

It’s a strange duality in his life. Loving and despising his Master.

But his Master was still nowhere in sight. This time, Anakin frowned. There was no way that something had come up that isn’t related to this three places. Or more likely, if something of that magnitude would’ve come up, he’d have heard about it by now. So where was his Master?

Making a last ditch effort to put this on his Master’s poor health, he went to his quarters. The 500 Republica was their home, though they had to maintain a different kind of relationship here, less they alert the Other One to something being fishy. Only Anakin’s closest loved ones knew how deeply he clung to the man and how appreciated he was by his father figure. He stopped his speeder at his own landing pad and then took a second to fold himself into Tatooine’s well meaning, but ultimately powerless senator.

He was approaching his Master’s quarters when he heard someone call his name.

“Anakin!”

He turned around to see his oldest friend, the Senator of Naboo, Padme Amidala walking up to him. She was just as radiant as ever in a sea foam colored dress that let her arms show. Her hair was done in a tight bun, complimented by golden braces. A relieved smile was adorning her features. Anakin smiled back and kissed her cheeks in greeting. She did the same.

“Padme! It’s good to see you.” She hooked her arm into his offered one.

“It’s good to see you too! I was wondering where you’d disappeared to.”

“Why, I thought you said last time that you know exactly where I sneak off to.”

Padme let out a soft giggle and put a placating hand on his shoulder, patting it a few times for good measure. Last time she tried to figure out if he was going out to see some friends, some _girls_ , and tried to make him jump ship by claiming that she put a tracking chip on his robes. Of course he called her bluff immediately and didn’t let her off the hook since.

“Alright, alright. You’ll have to forgive me. I’m just glad to see a friendly face. I’ve been around Senators for eight hours straight.”

“The horror.” He chuckled softly.

“They drained me of all happiness and will of life…”

“… and make me long for the sweet release of death.” He finished.

They laughed and walked on, her seemingly alright with following him to his destination for now. Truth to be told, Anakin had very strong feelings towards her. The two of them knew each other since he was nine and Padme was fourteen. A slave boy and a queen. If not for her and his Master, he would likely be back as a slave now. Or a Jedi. He shuddered at the thought.

He would’ve made a terrible Jedi. Too emotional. Too volatile. Too honest in his opinions. The Order never would’ve been able to mold him into a Knight, let alone a Master. It’s better this way, for everyone. Though many wouldn’t see it this way. Many would call him a monster if they’d knew what he did to complete his training and what his Master and him planned to do, once their plans were ready to be set in motion.

“Where are you headed now?”

“I was going to meet with Obi-Wan. He just got back from a long mission and we’ll go and have some tea, maybe chat a little.”

“I heard my name.”

This time, both of them turned towards the speaker and smiles appeared on their faces, matching the Jedi’s fond expression. Padme hugged the man and fussed over him a little, looking for injuries. Though subtly, Anakin did the same and felt a small tension uncoil in his chest when it was clear the man was in one piece. He also let the other’s force presence brush against his. After years and years of practice, he didn’t even need to check his shields anymore.

To Obi-Wan Kenobi and every Jedi that there was, Anakin Skywalker was an incomprehensibly large, but sadly untrained force presence they had to reject twelve years ago. Anakin was very good showing them just that. His shields were like a million layered planet, always shifting and folding. To the Jedi, he showed the face of a trying Senator. To the Other One, he was a slowly, but surely tainted presence. For his Master, he was the amalgamation of Light and Darkness melting into each other, though still imperfectly for now. Despite his Sith training, the Light still being in majority.

“Good to see you in one piece, my friend.” He said, patting Obi-Wan’s back while the short hug lasted.

“It wasn’t that bad. A run in with some pirates, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Yet we worry still.” He said, sharing a glance with Padme, who nodded with a somber expression. “There’s more and more of these attacks. The galaxy is in unrest. I might not be a Jedi, but even I have a sense of dark foreboding.”

The Jedi Master sighed and caressed his beard for a few seconds.

“Master Qui-Gon said the same. The Force is becoming elusive to us, not so easy to see through.”

Anakin shared a glance with Padme, adjusting the mask of an almost force blind person, unable to properly comprehend what the Jedi was saying. But Anakin knew. Oh, he knew. His Master said things that stemmed from the same phenomenon, but had the completely opposite effect on the likes of them. The Dark Side of the force was opening itself up more and more.

Obi-Wan must’ve noticed their uneasy smiles, because he quickly backpedaled.

“My apologies. I promised not to speak in riddles anymore.”

“Oh, don’t mind us. I’m sure I can find a few hours in my schedule to contemplate on the meaning of the force.”

“Sassy brat.”

He grinned at the older man. “I learned from the best.”

Slowly they reached his Master’s quarters. As if sensing the perfect opportunity in the force, Obi-Wan asked them where they were headed. Maybe he did sense it. In the past few years, the force was beginning to play favorites with Anakin. Somehow, without his own influence, he found people just in the right mood to talk about the things he needed to get done. People had the ideas he wanted to suggest on their own, they asked the right questions in the right time.

According to His Master this meant that he was on the right path. The force wanted to aide its Chosen One in bringing balance. On one part, this made his work so much easier and let him know that he was doing the right things in the right order. On the other, this felt like cheating. Despite his Master’s lessons, the morals Shmi has set in stone in his head were still there.

Speaking of his mother, he promised they’ll have dinner together. Better not forget it, or she’ll threat him with the _eyes._ There was no power mightier in the galaxy than the _eyes._

“We’ve just arrived, actually. I was to meet with Senator Damask hours ago and came to check if he was alright.”

Padme frowned beside him.

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him either today. I hope he is well.”

Not showing the alarm bells that started to ring in his head, Anakin knocked on the door a few times and then the three of them waited. And waited. After about a minute, Anakin knocked again. Still no answer. He shared a worried glance with the others, and then spoke up.

“Senator? It’s me, Anakin. You missed our meeting in the Opera. Are you well?”

No answer. Outwards, Anakin became even more nervous. But on the inside, a deadly stillness settled around his heart and mind. Under all those projecting and shielding, he was alert and ready for everything. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding, but some part of him knew. The force was whispering into his ear to be calm and be ready, so that’s what he became.

“Is the door locked?”

He tested Padme’s question by pushing the opening button. The door opened with a soft hiss and a dark apartment greeted the small group. Anakin took a few tentative steps inside, but even the first one was enough to feel the sense of mourning in the force. Despite the grief in his heart, he still had an act to maintain, else his Master’s long decades of planning would be destroyed.

“Senator?” He asked one last time, and found it marvelous how his voice only wavered in a way that could be categorized as nervousness and worry. He then shared an alarmed glance with his companions, who both had the same look of realization on their faces. “Senator, I’m coming in.” Was the last thing he said loud and then turned to Obi-Wan. “I’ll check the bedroom.”

“I’ll take the kitchen and living room.”

“I’ll go to the bathroom then.” Padme brought up the rear.

The three of them scattered out inside the apartment, but Anakin knew his Master would be in the bedroom. The force was practically dragging him there and for a moment he dared to hope. Maybe he wasn’t too late. But as soon as he opened the door, he knew he was.

He didn’t need to act on his grief.

“No!”

One minute he was still standing in the door, in the other, he was kneeling beside the bed, checking for his Master’s pulse. The last of his hopes crumbled away and he touched cold skin and found nothing. It was over. He was dead.

Darth Plagueis the Wise was dead.

He heard Padme’s gasp and felt Obi-Wan’s shock in the force, but paid them no mind. Time seemed to infinitely slow down, yet speed up beyond measure as he turned the majority of his feelings inwards, put the _fury_ and want for _revenge_ away for later use so he can mourn openly. Everyone knew he was close with the muun. The man was a father figure and a teacher to him since he was nine and Plagueis took him in as a freed slave.

He sank into Sith meditation that was easily mistook to shock, even to highly trained force users. The Jedi didn’t know what Sith Meditation felt like. Didn’t know that emotions were supposed to roll over him, to coil around his very being and the feeling of _suffocation under pressure_ was natural. He came to when Obi-Wan was trying to coax him up from the couch.

“Come on Anakin. Let’s get you home.”

He felt himself nod and stood up, holding on to his friend with both hands for support. His mind was whirling with thoughts and feelings. It was the Other One. He knew it for sure. His Master was _so close_ to immortality, there was no way he’d die in his sleep from old age. The Other One, _Sidious_ killed him somehow. Decided to launch his plans into motion and get rid of his Master first.

And take him as Apprentice.

Anakin felt sick all of sudden. His Master told him the other’s plans for him, for the _galaxy_. He told Anakin everything he knew just to prepare his _real_ student in case something like this happened. He felt like crying, but the tears wouldn’t come. Plagueis didn’t want war for a long time now. He did everything in his power to subtly postpone Sidious’ ambitions. Clearly, he was either found out, or the Other just got fed up with waiting.

And now Anakin had a legacy to uphold.

 _“We’ll make a dynasty.”_ His Master said when Anakin was young and felt alone. _“You’ll have children and they’ll have children and all of them would be like us. A Sith Dynasty. You’ll be its head and you’ll lead us out of hiding, show the world that we have a right to exist.”_

There was a time when Plagueis wanted the same things Sidious did. To rule the galaxy, to dominate every living being inside, to eradicate the Jedi Order and make the Sith the absolute monarchy. An Empire without anyone to challenge it. But that was before met a nine year old boy, with burning passion to _help_ , who loved freely and endlessly. Whose power multiplied with each person he let into his heart, someone he wanted to protect.

His Mother.

Padme.

Qui-Gon Jinn.

Plagueis himself.

And Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The old Sith Lord came to love him as a son the same time Anakin came to love him as a father. Unlike Palpatine, who always maintained a grandfatherly image around Anakin, coaxing him away from the others and into the dark for his own gain, Plagueis was honest. If not for his Master, only the Force knows where he’d be now. Sidious was _bad_ at training apprentices. He broke them into a million pieces first and only then did he mold them back into the weapon he wanted.

But his Master was careful to undo every damage Sidious did and then taught him how to undo it on his own and fake it. How to complain about the right things in the right time, how to react to suggestions, how to hide the fact that Sidious’ game was so easy to see through the second you have him figured out. Maybe that’s were its brilliance laid. Despite the amount of _fury and hate_ he felt towards the man, he couldn’t help but admire his work. The whole Senate was kissing his ass to make him happy while he derailed them into their own demise, all the while showing that shit eating smile of his to make himself seem trustworthy.

But Sidious was ruin and rot. His legacy would be nothing but suffering and death. His role in the big whole was to be the contrast, the specter of death, everything Anakin and his family _isn’t._

And Anakin’s role is…

“Wait.” He said at the door, voice hoarse.

“What is it?” Oni-Wan asked, soft and patient. Anakin must look as awful as he felt.

“I… he left me a…” He slowly walked back into the apartment that used to be his home until two years ago and felt a cold shudder run up his spine.

This wasn’t his home anymore. This was just a room full of memories. Yet he tried to etch every curve and line into his memory, knowing that everything will be cleared out for the new senator. He walked into the living room, feeling like a ghost of himself, and maybe he was. One of the most important people in his life had been ripped away and his murderer was amongst the people he was supposed to find solace in.

Fingers trembling, he reached out towards the small carved statue of a krayt dragon under the painting. His Master told him to take it at any cost if he dies somehow. Anakin felt Obi-Wan’s gaze on the back of his head and knew he still had a role here. He needed to plant the seeds for this case to be closed as smoothly as possible. That’s what his Master wanted.

He still felt like his mouth was full of ash.

“He didn’t… he didn’t feel good these past months… he bought this… to my birthday in case…”

The force coiled around him like a blanket, mourning alongside him. The emotions he felt from his friend told him that Obi-Wan was understanding and supporting him. Perks of being a hidden force user. People didn’t hold their shields around you so tight and never notice you picking up on their feelings.

“He always knew what to get for you.”

“Yeah.” He said, softly caressing the dragon’s head. “He did.”

Going back to his own apartment was a blur. Padme was already there and waited for the two of them with tea. His mother embraced him with teary eyes and told him everything would be fine. He wasn’t sure he believed her. He felt like a boat with its anchor cut, alone on a tempestuous sea. Lost and hopeless. He always knew this time might come, yet hoped his Master would be at his side when he could finally step out into the light.

There was no one in his life who knew him better than his Master. He knew Anakin’s true weaknesses, his true strengths, his failures in the past and plans for the future. Knew what he needed to do to keep him grounded, since Anakin was prone to get over himself with a rush of his incredible force powers. And he was no more. Anakin was alone.

“Maybe it would be better if you’d laid down.” Padme suggested with a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Yeah. I’ll do that. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Obi-Wan’s hand was warm on his shoulder and it felt good.

Only when he was alone in his room did he allow himself to shed some tears for the man that raised him. The man who changed himself to be a better father, a better role model. A Sith who loved him enough to let him be close friends with Jedi, to run around the galaxy with said Jedi, to choose his own hobbies and his own friends.

He sat beside the window, looking down on Coruscant in a daze. He felt Sidious show up for a while, no doubt to come and check out his handiwork. While Obi-Wan was present, his shielding was too good for Anakin to read him, but he was annoyed no doubt that he already went to sleep and didn’t run to him for solace. After a few minutes he left with Padme, Obi-Wan following them soon after. When it was just his mother and his step-father, he locked the door with the force.

Only then did he turn his attention to the small carved dragon. With the smallest touch of the Dark Side, he found the data chip stored away in the belly of a dragon. He pulled out the new holo projector he bought just in case he needed to see something that must not leave trace and inserted the data chip with shaking fingers.

A small version of the old muun appeared and Anakin felt his heart clench, despite not letting more tears fall. No matter how universal his training was, he was also a Sith. _I control my emotions. My emotions don’t control me._ So he took one last long breath and pushed the play button.

_My Son._

_I tried to say everything you needed to hear while I was alive. I wanted you to know that no one has been as important to me as you are and I’m very proud of you. Everything I knew, you know. You know my goal, but you don’t need to follow the role I deemed best for you._

_You are a free man, Anakin Skywalker. Seek whatever goal you wish and be happy._

_But if you decide to fulfil this old man’s wish, then I shall give you a name._

_A name I’ve denied you for so long, because I knew what torture it’ll bring and didn’t want it to dominate your destiny. A name that kings shall tremble to behold, armies shall dread to hear and the force shall sing into eternity. I_ know _you are the Chosen One, my Apprentice. And you deserve a matching title._

_Henceforth I shall name you,_

_Darth Vader._

_Go, and make the universe know who you are. Go and make a difference._

He sat there for a while, tempted to listen to it again, but decided against it. These were his Master’s, his father’s last words. He didn’t need to listen twice to remember. With a single force powered grip, he destroyed the projector and the data chip at the same time. He pushed himself up, turned towards the large window and looked onto the city planet with a sigh.

_Darth Vader._

The Dark Side came to him as a cape and a thousand swords. He felt it wrap him into the mocking embrace of a lover, to stretch out behind him and lash out like the tail of an angry cat. The glass reflected a strange version of himself. Eyes blazing gold, posture straight and menacing, face resting in a permanent empty expression. And the _darkness_ like a never ending cape, stretching out behind him, crawling up on his skin like the marks of Sith lightning, covering his chest, his neck, his _face_ , reaching into his eyes and poisoning them further.

He looked upon what Darth Vader could be.

_Can I be you?_

Should _I be you?_

Darth Vader looked like everything the Jedi feared and did so with a good reason. He looked like everything that would break his mother’s heart, Obi-Wan’s heart, _Padme’s_ heart. He can’t deny that he had very strong feelings towards his childhood friend and contemplated on confessing to her. But if he becomes _that_ , he wouldn’t have the stomach, wouldn’t have the _right._ She was too good for him to taint her. He’d confess to her while she could say no and if she’d turn her back on him, _completely justified_ , then she’ll be a loose end in his Master’s plans. Force, he didn’t even dare to imagine how _Obi-Wan_ might react.

 _No. No, I can’t._ He decided, casting one last longing glance at his image. One last thought wishing for all that power and imagining what he could do with it. He’d want to use it for good, but his Master said that the Dark Side is selfish by nature. He’d do what _he_ thinks is good. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the _universal_ good. _Not now. Maybe not ever. I’m sorry Master, but I’ll have to try without this title. But I’ll keep it in mind, because you gave it to me._

He let the darkness go and the image of him slowly returned to normal. Just Anakin Skywalker. The former slave, the Senator of Tatooine, and soon to be lord of some Outer Rims planets. His Master and he set the stage for everything, now he just has to perform and stay true to himself in the process. It’ll be hard, because it’ll be easy to not pay attention to the specter of Vader still looming behind him, while his eyes held a promise.

_Soon._


End file.
